The Tampa Bay Rays may have fallen short of winning the 2026 World Series, but the team achieved a different distinction during the postseason: no Major League Baseball team that hosted playoff games saw a larger increase in average home attendance compared with the regular season.
A new analysis by Action Network found that the Rays’ average home attendance increased 121.7% during the 2026 playoffs, more than doubling the team’s regular-season crowds. The findings highlight the surge in fan interest surrounding Tampa Bay’s postseason run, even as ticket prices climbed sharply across the league.
The Rays averaged 17,469 fans per home game during the regular season, compared with 38,734 during the playoffs. That represents an average increase of 21,265 spectators per home game.
Rays Record MLB’s Biggest Postseason Attendance Increase
Tampa Bay ranked No. 1 among the nine MLB teams that hosted postseason games for growth in average home attendance, according to the Action Network analysis.
The Chicago White Sox recorded the second-largest increase at 65.1%, putting the Rays’ 121.7% jump well ahead of the next-closest team.
The increase reflects the difference between regular-season attendance and the crowds drawn during the playoffs. While the Rays averaged fewer than 18,000 fans per home game during the regular season, their postseason average approached 39,000.
The figures also illustrate how playoff games can attract a substantially larger audience than regular-season matchups, as the stakes rise and fans rally behind their teams.
Postseason Ticket Prices Rise Alongside Attendance
The increase in attendance came with a significant jump in ticket costs. According to Action Network, the average postseason resale asking price for a Rays ticket reached $482.05, compared with $53.33 during the regular season.
That represents an increase of 803.9%.
These figures reflect published resale asking-price benchmarks, rather than confirmed ticket sales. Actual prices paid by fans may differ depending on the game, seat location, and availability.
The findings underscore the financial considerations for fans hoping to attend playoff games in person. Although Tampa Bay experienced the largest increase in attendance, the cost of securing a seat also rose considerably during the postseason.
World Series Champion Milwaukee Brewers See Higher Crowds and Ticket Prices
The Milwaukee Brewers, who won the 2026 World Series, also experienced increased attendance and ticket prices during their postseason run.
The Brewers averaged 34,431 fans per home game during the regular season, rising to 42,692 during the playoffs. That represents a 24% increase.
Milwaukee averaged attendance equivalent to 101.9% of American Family Field’s fixed-seat capacity across six home playoff games. The figure reflects attendance that included standing-room spectators beyond the stadium’s listed fixed-seat capacity.
Ticket prices climbed even more sharply than attendance. The average postseason resale asking price for a Brewers ticket reached $439.88, up from $43.79 during the regular season. That represents a 904.5% increase.
The analysis also examined the cost of attending the World Series in Milwaukee. At the reported entry-price benchmark, four tickets would have cost approximately $10,394. That amount equaled 160.1% of Milwaukee’s median monthly household income, illustrating the financial burden a family could face when attending a championship series.
What the Numbers Reveal About the 2026 MLB Postseason
The Action Network study examined attendance, stadium seating capacity, and ticket affordability across the 12 teams that reached the 2026 MLB postseason.
The findings reveal contrasting stories from the World Series matchup. Tampa Bay recorded the largest increase in average home attendance among teams that hosted playoff games, while Milwaukee combined a strong attendance increase with a championship run and steeply rising resale prices.
For the Rays, the 121.7% increase demonstrates how dramatically home crowds grew when the team reached the postseason. For fans across MLB, the ticket-price findings show that experiencing playoff baseball in person can come at a substantially higher cost than attending a regular-season game.
Read the full Action Network MLB stadium costs and attendance analysis for additional findings on postseason crowds, stadium capacity, and ticket affordability.
